Jennifer Matthews
Jennifer Matthews often referred to by her gamertag Jenny Matrix is a major protagonist in the Video Game High School series, former captain of both the VGHS Junior Varsity and Varsity FPS teams. She is also the love interest and eventual girlfriend of Brian D. An extremely skilled and accomplished gamer, she has expressed her aspirations of becoming a professional gamer throughout the series, insofar to join the Paris Panthers at the end of Season 3. For most of Season 1, Jenny is in a relationship with incumbent VGHS Varsity FPS captain The Law, Brian D's arch-nemesis and primary antagonist of the first season. This relationship eventually ended by the season's eighth episode, after it became known to Jenny that Law had no intention of granting her position on Varsity FPS. Overview Season 1 Jenny is introduced in the second episode of the series. She is made the welcome buddy of Brian D. and Ki Swan, although she does little to fulfill this role. Brian instantly develops a crush on her and attempts to impress her (which instead results in Games Dean becoming popular), as well as try to get onto the JV team. Jenny demands five reasons on why he should be let on. After witnessing Brian defeat (and inadvertently expel) Annihilist, Jenny asks for "four more reasons". She is again impressed with Brian's swift performance in the Pit, which lands him an invitation to her party. At the party, Jenny shows Brian her room and reveals to him that she loves Dance Ex Machina and that her mother is Mary Matrix, captain of The Denver Commandos. She confesses that she is worried that she won't make it onto the Varsity team, but Brian encourages her and tells her not to worry. After Brian and The Law compete against each other in DXM, Brian becomes the light of the party despite the fact that The Law outperforms him. Following that, Jenny lets Brian take the spot on the JV team. Much to Brian's disappointment, however, Jenny soon goes off to dance with The Law, whom he discovers is her boyfriend. The scrimmage game ends in disaster for the JV team, including Brian's accidental killing of Jenny. Being one point away from expulsion, Brian is nearly expelled after challenging Games Dean and his gang to a one-on-three death-match, but Jenny saves him and helps him defeat the three. Games gets revenge by claiming on his blog that Brian and Jenny were making out after their fight. Determined to make it onto Varsity, Jenny tells Brian that they can't hang out anymore for fear that the Law will prevent her from joining the team if he picks up on this false story. At the sign-ups for try outs, Jenny witnesses Brian assaulting the Law, and assumes that this has ruined her chances of making it onto Varsity. She confronts him later, angrily revealing that she is aware of his crush on her before indignantly asking him to leave. In a moment of heart-brokenness and retribution, Brian informs her that The Law wouldn't have let her on the team anyways, and that he has just been expelled. Upset, she insults him and runs off. She breaks up with the Law off-screen sometime later. The next day, she finds Brian at his new job to apologize. Learning that, through a loophole, he can still try out, and possibly return to VGHS, she helps Brian pull himself together, but not before they share a round of DXM. In the heat of the moment, they almost share a kiss before being abruptly interrupted by Ted and Ki, who have "made up and made out". At the try outs, Jenny and Brian lead the JV team well against Varsity until the Law shows up. They nearly face defeat before Brian and Jenny formulate a plan to confront and defeat the Law. Jenny is able to distract the Law for long enough, allowing Brian to defeat him, resulting in his return from expulsion to VGHS. Jenny grants Brian a permanent spot on the JV team, following which Brian shares his first kiss with Jenny. Season 2 Jenny is stunned to discover her mother Mary has been hired as the new FPS coach. Jenny hoped to gain a spot on the Varsity team, however, Mary did not consider her qualified and showed little interest in the JV team at all. Moreover, Mary assigns Brian to an open Varsity spot, despite his urging that it go to Jenny instead. Jenny, though unhappy about this, doesn't blame Brian, and even reads her mother's playbook aloud for him. Ultimately, this setback proves short-lived as the entire Varsity squad (save for Brian) is disqualified due to a cheating scandal involving The Law, and the JV team is sent to compete in their place. Under Jenny's leadership, the team manages to win their first match against the Barkley Cyber Dwarves. Being the current Varsity captain and the daughter of the team's coach, Jenny decides on keeping her relationship with Brian purely platonic (which clearly upsets him). In Episode 3, she invites Brian over to help write a speech about her mother, who has been elected winner of the "Parent of the Year" award. However, she breaks down crying after realizing that she has no fond memories of her mother, causing Brian to spend the night comforting her. After she delivers her speech later that day, Mary Matrix whispers into Jenny's ear, "Was that so hard?", unintentionally deflating Jenny's spirits. She later appears at Brian's door, and they begin a romantic relationship in secret. Season 3 In Episode 1, Jenny appears in a special PWNZWN breaking story, and is first seen in Field of Fire saving BrianD from an opponent on the back of a truck by using a rocket launcher. Together they win VGHS's first play-offs match, and Jenny is seen in the various gaming news spots. Jenny supports Brian when Ted gives him the cold shoulder. She and him sit with the rest of the FPS team at lunch and she talks about their plans to attend an olive-oil tasting at Romero's. Jenny has to postpone her date with Brian when Coach Matrix appears to remind her that she has an interview on OMGWTFPS!? alongside Ashley Barnstormer that day. Backstage of OMGWTFPS!? Jenny worries about the personal questions she will be asked by the interviewer and says that she hates interviews. Her mother tells her that she needs to get used to it because being a pro-player means being a celebrity, and should be more like charismatic Ashely Barnstormer. Jenny rolls her eyes at the overly-charming Ashely. Jenny watches as Ashely approaches Jacque leTeur, Jenny's favorite FPS coach of all time. Jenny gushes about Coach leTeur and his team, the Paris Panthers. She wants to speak to him but is shy and asks her mother to speak to him instead. Jenny is called onstage a moment later and she takes time to breath deeply, freaking out a little about the interview. Jenny joins Ashely as they stand offstage. Jenny is trying to steady her breathing as Ashely talks to her about Coach leTeur. She mostly ignores Ashley right until he purposefully dumps his drink down the front of her blouse just before they walk out onstage. Jenny is sitting on the edge of her seat with hunched shoulders during the majority of the interview. During the interview Jenny is upset that while Ashley is asked questions about his team and the play-offs, Jenny is asked questions about her parents' divorce and her relationship with BrianD and The Law. She is also given purposefully mis-worded questions that lead to her giving unintentionally politically incorrect answers, causing the crowd to favor Ashely over Jenny. Ashely plays off of Jenny's nerves and makes jokes at her expense, leaving Jenny with 0 guest points while Ashley has 291. Later, Jenny loses a virtual basketball game to Ashely. She's mortified when Talkbot tells her that an anonymous source has told him that she has a "hidden talent of her own." Jenny thinks he means DXM but is told that it's even more embarrassing - she used to play Paropera the Opera, "Like a nerd!" She doesn't want to sing for the crowd, but Ashley gets the crowd to push her into it. Jenny nervously approaches the lowered microphone and winces as the lights dim and a spotlight is shown on her. She steadies herself as the music begins and sings beautifully, silencing the crowd and angering Ashely. Her singing earns her a 'Bravo!' on the game screen and Talkbot claps vigorously. Having done extremely well and won back the crowd, Jenny finally relaxes and is pleased with herself. When Jenny goes backstage she knows it's her mother who told Talkbot that she sings, and tells her so. Coach Matrix says that it's a good thing that she told them because Jenny was "dying out there." Jenny is unbothered by her mother's comment and speaks to Coach leTeur when her mother points him out to her. Jenny approaches Coach leTeur at the snack table and tells her she's a big fan of his and is thrilled to learn that Coach leTeur knows who she is too. Coach leTeur has been watching her games and says that she is the best sniper in the league, and that the Panthers would be very lucky to have her. Jenny smiles wide and bashfully dismisses his praise, but gets serious when he tells her to keep up her good playing. After the conversation Jenny returns to her mother beam over her conversation with Coach leTeur. Later, Jenny goes to BrianD's room and tells him all the great things about her interview - she asks him if he watched, and is initially happy to hear that he didn't watch because Ted came over. She's sympathetic when Brian tells her that he and Ted won't be friends anymore and comforts him. At Brian's request, Jenny tells him more about the interview and dumps all of the candy she got from backstage onto his bed. Personality Jenny Matrix possesses an intense personality which greatly contrasts with series protagonist Brian D. Unlike Brian, Jenny is assertive, ambitious, commanding, dedicated, strong-willed and stubborn, all of which are qualities that augment her gaming performance. Unbeknownst to most people, however, Jenny is driven by a desire to please and live up to the expectations of her mother, a professional FPS captain, occasionally resorting to extremes to live up to said expectations. While she has only revealed this side of her life to Brian on-screen (in Season 1 Episode 4), it is presumed that The Law knew of this as well, using it to manipulate Jenny throughout the course of the season, insofar to conspire with her to humiliate Brian. Jenny's favored weapon in Field of Fire is an L115A3 Sniper Rifle. Relationships Brian D Despite initially thinking little of Brian D, as well as being in a relationship with The Law, Brian's arch-nemesis, Jenny and Brian developed a powerful bond and foundation for a romantic relationship throughout Season 1. Though originally conspiring with Law to decimate Brian, Brian's persistence, enthusiasm, and fundamentally good nature would eventually cause Jenny to genuinely care for his well-being, as proven in Season 1 Episode 6. A major point of conflict throughout Season 1 and in the relationship between Jenny and Brian stemmed from Jenny obeying the Law's orders to place Brian on the JV FPS team so that he may successfully exact his revenge on Brian during the annual JV/Varsity FPS scrimmage. Jenny's part in this conspiracy, however, was not done out of malice, but rather, a selfish desire to secure a spot on the Varsity FPS team. Ironically, it is Brian who eventually opens Jenny's eyes to the fact that Law never had any intention of putting Jenny on the Varsity FPS team. After defeating Law and the FPS Varsity team in the Season 1 finale, Brian and Jenny finally kiss in the locker room. As Jenny gives Brian a permanent spot on the JV FPS team, they agree to keep a platonic relationship, so as to avoid complications. In Season 2, Jenny and Brian continue as friends, thought Jenny even agrees to go on a date with Brian. The evening is cut short when Brian is assigned to the Varsity team, however. Ultimately, Jenny decides they should remain friends, as she is still the captain, and her mother is the coach, something that clearly disappoints Brian D. Nevertheless, Brian provides some emotional support during her strained relationship with her mother, which leads to Jenny agreeing to date him behind her mother's back. The Law Despite being in a relationship throughout most of Season 1, Jenny Matrix and the Law appear to have a mutually parasitic relationship. Jenny harbors a great desire to please her mother by making the Varsity FPS team, and the Law manipulating Jenny into orchestrating Brian's decimation. There is little indication throughout the season that either of the two genuinely cared for each other. On the contrary, Law openly tells Brian that he had no intention of granting Jenny a position on the FPS Varsity team, an action to prevent anyone from stealing the spotlight from him. After Games Dean spreads a rumor around the school claiming he witnessed Jenny (still in a relationship with Law) and Brian making out, Jenny tells Brian that they cannot spend time together for fear that the Law won't grant her a spot on the FPS Varsity team. In Season 2 Episode 1, upon witnessing the Law's public meltdown, Jenny remarks that she "cannot believe that she used to date him." However, in the Season 3 finale, after Brian recruits Law for their 32-player team to go against Napalm, Jenny comments that she is "sort of glad that Law is back." Mary Matrix Being the daughter of the FPS Varsity team coach, Jenny would always try to impress her mother and live up to her standards. Despite often sharing a relatively hostile and purely professional relationship with her mother, Jenny finally opens up to her in Season 3 Episode 5, after which they mutually comment that they will miss each other (since Mary Matrix needed to go back to coaching the Denver Commandos, resulting in her having to leave VGHS). Appearances Season 1 *Season 1, Episode 2 *Season 1, Episode 3 *Season 1, Episode 4 *Season 1, Episode 5 *Season 1, Episode 6 *Season 1, Episode 7 *Season 1, Episode 8 *Season 1, Episode 9 Season 2 *Season 2, Episode 1 *Season 2, Episode 2 *Season 2, Episode 3 *Season 2, Episode 4 *Season 2, Episode 5 *Season 2, Episode 6 Season 3 * Season 3, Episode 1 * Season 3, Episode 2 * Season 3, Episode 3 * Season 3, Episode 4 * Season 3, Episode 5 * Season 3, Episode 6 Matrix, Jenny Category:Characters